Sonos Eyes Recession with New Wireless Audio

Sonos, manufacturer of the excellent-but-expensive wireless home audio system of the same name, today announced a $400 wireless speaker system. While not cheap, the ZonePlayer S5 is unlike any of the company's other products, which sell in bundles starting at $999.

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Sonos, manufacturer of the excellent-but-expensive wireless home audio system of the same name, today announced a $400 wireless speaker system. While not cheap, the ZonePlayer S5 is unlike any of the company's other products, which sell in bundles starting at $999. What makes it unique? It's an all-in-one system. Well, sort of. If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, then it is.

Using the (free) Sonos Controller app, you can access your music
library wirelessly and play it through the S5's speakers: two tweeters,
two mid-range drivers, and a built-in subwoofer. True, this will only
get you one room of audio, but if you purchase two, it will still come
in at $200 less than the Sonos starter bundle.

Also, let's
clarify one thing: if you only buy one ZonePlayer, it will have to be
plugged into your router. That router doesn't necessarily need to be near your computer, however, so this is still an advantage. If you have more than one, all subsequent
ZonePlayers will work wirelessly.

The software needed to
organize your music library is also free, so this is quite a compelling
deal. For the price of some stand-alone iPod speaker docks, you get a
speaker system that allows you to use your
iPhone as a remote when you need to, but use it for apps or the
Internet when you don't, all the while streaming your library of content, which can include services like Rhapsody, Pandora, and Slacker.

PCMag.com
will be reviewing the ZonePlayer S5 in the coming weeks. If its audio quality is
lousy, that is, of course, a deal-breaker. It's rare, however, that Sonos produces a sub-par product.

The ZonePlayer S5 will work with all existing Sonos remotes and ZonePlayers. It'll be available October 27th.
Originally posted to Gearlog.

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